Loving our "myths" through the ups and downs of their lives -- and ours -- is what hero worship is all about. Mel Gibson is merely the myth of the moment. Generation X'ers cry their unemployed eyes out about Creeds Scott Stapp and his latest apology to the media. Married-with-children, middle-American moms sympathize with Christie Brinkley whose husband strayed. The over-60 crowd scans the paper for the latest Zsa Zsa Gabor scandal to see which policeman/actress/employee she has slapped/insulted/slandered this time. Try as they may, our role models are only human, and therefore bound to the culture from which they came.

For many people, however, true heroes rise above the culture and other obstacles thrown in their path. Through a long and difficult trip back into the public's good graces, many heroes have reclaimed much of their original popularity after suffering through indignities, indiscretions, and insults.

Former President Richard Nixon -- once regarded by his many opponents as "Tricky Dicky" and ranked ninth place in anthropologist Dr. Ashley Montagu's list of the "10 Worst Well-Known Human Beings in History" (right after Caligula) -- managed to salvage much of his pride and prestige after the Watergate scandal. Until his death several years ago, he was a noted lecturer, author, and social commentator. Nixon, an alleged direct descendent of King Edward III of England, managed to re-establish his credibility with many people and his funeral, attended by numerous VIP's, was a national day of mourning.

Vanessa Williams, who earned distinction as the first black Miss America, was forced to resign from her glamorous position after photos of her in less glamorous positions were published in "Playboy" magazine. Although Williams left in disgrace, she later resurfaced -- this time married, sophisticated, and fully clothed -- hosting a show on the cable channel VH1, releasing new CDs, appearing in an occasional movie, and proving that she was a winner after all.

Nancy Kerrigan, the Olympic figure skater who got attacked first by a thug and later by the media, worked hard to restore her image. After displaying fine form on the ice, her endorsement career and hero status nearly went into a deep freeze after her snide comments about the gold medal winner were televised and she decried the Walt Disney World parade in which she was participating as "corny." She soon made amends, however, by hiring publicists to correct her social gaffes. Kerrigan also appeared on Saturday Night Live where she poked fun at herself and the entire skating scandal, then securing her spot as the second most desirable sports figure for product endorsements, according to a survey by Steiner Sports Marketing and winning the most votes in Nickelodeon's poll for favorite female athlete.

One of the most widespread and damaging scandals was during the 1950's political witch hunt, in which careers were ruined, fortunes lost, and lives destroyed by rumors. Film director Martin Ritt, screenwriter Walter Bernstein, actors Zero Mostel and Herschel Bernardi -- all participants in Woody Allen's 1976 film The Front, which exposed the ugliness of the era -- were just a few of the countless blacklisted celebrities who managed to regain some of their initial stature.

Indeed the scandals will continue. They like to do it and the public likes to see it. The supermarket tabloids will continue to proliferate. They like to publish it and the public likes to read it. Maybe most of the scandalous charges used as the basis for lawsuits are untrue, based entirely on the imaginations of greedy, disheartened fans who want to lower their heroes down a peg or two while claiming a share of the booty for themselves. In many of these cases, out-of-court settlements and star-struck juries preclude any chance of ever getting the truth.

Herculean efforts may pull some of the fallen heroes out of the quagmire, but most will fall victim again to the tempting -- often scandalous -- lifestyles of the rich and famous. Said the late Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper about her mansion in Beverly Hills, "That's the house that fear built."

Copyright 2006 Leslie Halpern